# Inherited a Humi, Got me interested!



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

Hi Guys,

I have been reading the forums to get a better understanding of how to properly look after cigars. This is my first post, so please be gentle. There are a lot of knowledgable people on here and I have gained quite a bit of wisdom from a lot of forum posts here. However, I have come to something that I could not just look up.

To cut a long story short, I inherited a Humidor from a friend. He claimed he had never used it, and indeed the interior was fairly immaculate and the humi-brick was still in its packaging. From the outside, it looks beautiful (subjective ofcourse).

The interior however is what has me concerned. I do not see any spanish cedar panelling on the inside walls. I suspect (like has been mentioned on these forums before) that only the lid and floor is spanish cedar. What do you guys think? Is this a big concern if the sides are not spanish cedar? A tray came with it too which I believe to be spanish cedar. So is this just a cheapidor?

It smells and looks nice. I am trying to prime it the way that Herf n Turf suggested. I certainly won't put anything into it until I am sure.

It also has a very nice seal. When i shut it its very tight. It passed the paper test (canadian money is no longer paper so it wont tear... plus the smallest increment is 5$, the price of a moderately decent cigar!).

Now, say if it is not spanish cedar and it is not suitable, can i just order some 1/4" spanish cedar panels and panel the interior myself? I have grown quite fond of the look of it. I have found a supplier in Ontario that can send adequate amounts to panel it for a relatively reasonable price.

Considering I was given this, I don't mind spending some money to getting it up and running. Saying that, if its going to cost me the price of a good waxing moon or daniel marshall humi, then i will just buy a new one.


Opinions?


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

This should make it easier to view the files.


----------



## ARCHAIC (Oct 5, 2009)

looks like its all cedar inside to me, I would say, take your time seasoning it & enjoy it for years. While you are seasoning it you can browse the interwebs & look for the next BIGGER humi you will eventually buy. Hang around here long enough & you will need more room for sure!


----------



## ckay (May 10, 2010)

Looks great, follow herf n turf's seasoning method, and while you do so, order some beads from Heartfelt Industries, Cigar Humidification, Cigar Humidor Humidity Beads, Heartfelt Beads, quality Cigar Accessories.

I use the rectangular variety and it appears that you have a frame on the lid of it in which to surround it with. Also get a digital hygrometer as the analog is purely for looks IMO.

I also wouldn't worry about a seal that doesn't rip paper. That is grossly exaggerated.

Looks great!


----------



## cubanrob19 (Jun 15, 2010)

that is a very nice Humi indeed! 
the inside does look to be all cedar ... like they said, just season it well, and enjoy the ride!


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

cubanrob19 said:


> that is a very nice Humi indeed!
> the inside does look to be all cedar ... like they said, just season it well, and enjoy the ride!


Thanks for the quick replies guys. I guess what had me stumped is that most humidors I have seen in person had thin cedar paneling on the interior walls, this one didn't. But I'll keep on seasoning it like you said and we'll see what happens.

As for beads, I ordered a electronic humidifier online. This was a but of a gamble but a close friend of mine has one and I was impressed by it so thought I would give it a try. It should be here early next week, so heaps of time to properly season the humidor. If it doesn't work out I'll go to beads.

As for hygrometer, I bought the small circular xikar digital hygrometer which I was assured would be accurate. I plonked it into a zip lock bag along with a cap of salt with some drops of water to moisten it and the humidity is reading 67% rather then 75% after about 6-7 hours. I'll keep an eye on it for a few more hours, but I am thinking I might by the calibration solution to try to calibrate it properly.

Once again, thanks for the help. It's overwhelming the amount of information that is out there sometimes.


----------



## cubanrob19 (Jun 15, 2010)

Chod said:


> Thanks for the quick replies guys. I guess what had me stumped is that most humidors I have seen in person had thin cedar paneling on the interior walls, this one didn't. But I'll keep on seasoning it like you said and we'll see what happens.
> 
> As for beads, I ordered a electronic humidifier online. This was a but of a gamble but a close friend of mine has one and I was impressed by it so thought I would give it a try. It should be here early next week, so heaps of time to properly season the humidor. If it doesn't work out I'll go to beads.
> 
> ...


I have that same hygrometer ... it is accurate, but it doesnt come calibrated when you buy it, so yea, definitely calibrate it using the salt method. I would also go ahead and re-calibrate it every year just to be on the safe side.


----------



## obleedo (Feb 4, 2010)

Very nice humidor youve got there, the guys here wont steer you wrong with how to season it and get it ready for packing it to the rim with good smokes, all you need to do is a follow up with pictures of it filled! Good luck and welcome to Puff!


----------



## Tritones (Jun 23, 2010)

Chod said:


> As for hygrometer, I bought the small circular xikar digital hygrometer which I was assured would be accurate. I plonked it into a zip lock bag along with a cap of salt with some drops of water to moisten it and the humidity is reading 67% rather then 75% after about 6-7 hours. I'll keep an eye on it for a few more hours, but I am thinking I might by the calibration solution to try to calibrate it properly.
> 
> Once again, thanks for the help. It's overwhelming the amount of information that is out there sometimes.


There's a button at the top of the Xikar hygro (at least there is on the two I own) that switches the temperature display from Centigrade to Fahrenheit. If you hold the button down long enough it resets the RH reading to 75%. Yours has been in the bag long enough to reset. The idea is that the damp salt paste establishes a 75% RH in the bag, so you set your hygro to match.

Oddly, not all Xikar models have instructions that mention the reset button. One of mine did and the other didn't.


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

Tritones said:


> There's a button at the top of the Xikar hygro (at least there is on the two I own) that switches the temperature display from Centigrade to Fahrenheit. If you hold the button down long enough it resets the RH reading to 75%. Yours has been in the bag long enough to reset. The idea is that the damp salt paste establishes a 75% RH in the bag, so you set your hygro to match.
> 
> Oddly, not all Xikar models have instructions that mention the reset button. One of mine did and the other didn't.


The instructions definitely didn't mention this. Thanks for the info.

I am still keeping an eye on it but it seems to be between 66-67%. Ill give it untill this afternoon and then I'll reset it as you suggested. Afterwards to test it ill put it in the boveda test kit thingy. And we'll see how accurate my salt test came out.

The temperature in my house unfortunately isnt completely stable. During the course of the day it fluctuates anywhere upto 5C. I have it in a cupboard which is probably the most stable place in the house.

I think the more i look at the heartfelt beads, the more i like the idea of using them.

I ordered a Cigar Oasis Ultra for my humidifying needs. We'll see how that pans out. I guess thats the reason why i want a very accurate hyrgo, the inbuilt one on the cigar oasis is meant to be a bit flaky.


----------



## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

Yeah, it's cedar throughout. It's a nice looking box and I really like the burl. One issue you might have is with that analogue hygro in the front. They are notorious for leaking, so depending on how well it's installed, you may want to look for ways to seal it up on the inside.

I doubt you'll be happy with that Cigar Oasis. It will take up far too much real estate for my tastes and you're shackled to replacing $20 cartridges every six months for the rest of your life. They are highly prone to mold, so keep a close eye on the cartridges. You don't need a fan in such a small enclosure.

Start thinking coolidor. That will likely be the better home for your Oasis.

Good luck and enjoy!


----------



## Habanolover (Feb 22, 2006)

Also, in order to accurately salt test you will probably want to give it between 36 and 48 hours. I have found that anything less is usually not an accurate reading.


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

Habanolover said:


> Also, in order to accurately salt test you will probably want to give it between 36 and 48 hours. I have found that anything less is usually not an accurate reading.


Yea, I went against my better judgement and set the humidity after about 18 hours and I think I am out. I got one of those boleva 72.2% satchels for travel cigars and the hygrometer reads 75% after about 2 hours. I'll leave it overnight and check it out. Worst case scenario I'll start again with the salt test.

Herf: I think your right about the cigar oasis. I don't regret buying it as I am sure I'll find a use for it. It was a bit of an impulse buy at 79.95 with a free 5 pack sampler. Locally it is well over 150$. Damn taxes. Well we will see.

I think I'll order some heartfelt beads online. Unfortunately I can't find any locally. No one seems to know what they are.

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the awesome support. I know most of this is endlessly covered in other threads.


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

Herf N Turf said:


> Yeah, it's cedar throughout. It's a nice looking box and I really like the burl. One issue you might have is with that analogue hygro in the front. They are notorious for leaking, so depending on how well it's installed, you may want to look for ways to seal it up on the inside.


Also, that was my first thought when I got it. It didn't even sit in there properly. So I removed it and added a bit of masking tape to the edges and now it sits in it's hole nice and tight. Will keep an eye on it though. It is total rubbish. Very inaccurate.


----------



## fiddlegrin (Feb 8, 2009)

Howdy Chod :wave:

Welcome to Puff and congratulations on your great lookin Humidor :thumb:


:rockon:


----------



## Tritones (Jun 23, 2010)

Chod said:


> I'll leave it overnight and check it out. Worst case scenario I'll start again with the salt test.


If you're going to recalibrate it with another salt test, Xikar recommends taking the battery out and then back in again to completely reset the device. I don't know if that's necessary - just what one set of instructions said to do.


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

fiddlegrin said:


> Howdy Chod :wave:
> Welcome to Puff and congratulations on your great lookin Humidor :thumb:
> :rockon:


Thanks!



Tritones said:


> If you're going to recalibrate it with another salt test, Xikar recommends taking the battery out and then back in again to completely reset the device. I don't know if that's necessary - just what one set of instructions said to do.


I just did a quick check this morning. After about 10 hours, the hygrometer was reading 73% which is accurate considering the boveda pack thingy says it is 72.5%. It is one of those travel packs. I will leave it for another 6 hours or so and if its consistent I'll consider it calibrated.

Strange that you have to remove the battery to reset it to recalibrate it... Perhaps its just to prevent you from accidentally reseting it.


----------



## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

Another note on the Cigar Oasis.

Based on my reading, they tend to subscribe to the "rule of thirds":

1/3 don't work right, straight out of the box.
1/3 work right up until the warranty runs out.
1/3 run brilliantly and indefinitely.

As I mentioned above, mold is a big problem with the CO foam. There's big money in those cartridges and CO seem to have gone to great lengths to insure you having to buy them. They (purposely, I think) use mold-prone foam and aggressively glue it in and seal the lid so you can't change it.

A lot of users have taken the 1-1/2hrs to dig it out and replaced it with some sort of alternative media. You can go to a craft/hobby store and purchase water beads, which look like tiny seeds when dry, then swell to about 500x their original size. They are used for plants. These don't regulate humidity like HF beads do, but that's a non-issue since the CO does it for you. Others have simply installed beads in the cartridge.

I'm not surprised that you can't find beads locally. They're not sold in stores and are only available direct from Heartfelt Industries' website.


----------



## The Waco Kid (Jun 20, 2010)

Hi Chod,

I am not sure what everyone else is talking about. That humi is clearly made of extremely hazardous materials. Please send it to me immediately so that I can dispose of it properly for you. Trust me, I've been trained in these things.

But seriously, that is beautiful. You have a very nice heirloom there. Welcome to Puff!


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

Herf N Turf said:


> Another note on the Cigar Oasis.
> 
> Based on my reading, they tend to subscribe to the "rule of thirds":
> 
> ...


Well fingers crossed that I manage to get one of the 1/3 that works flawlessly. Once I get it Ill have a better idea of how to/and if i should modify the cartridge and put beads inside.

My hygro was reading 74% on that 72% boleva pack. I just opened up a new ziplock and restarted the test. How long does it take a digital hygro to go from a set humidity to reset to room humidity? After taking it out of the bag it didn't drop rapidly. Must just take some time.

Unfortunately in summer, the only place i will be able to keep my humi is in the pantry. Everywhere else in the house gets well above 75F.


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

Lakeman said:


> Hi Chod,
> 
> I am not sure what everyone else is talking about. That humi is clearly made of extremely hazardous materials. Please send it to me immediately so that I can dispose of it properly for you. Trust me, I've been trained in these things.
> 
> But seriously, that is beautiful. You have a very nice heirloom there. Welcome to Puff!


Hahaha, my heart stopped for a minute there as I read your post. I debated for a while to swap it out. One of the local cigar stores _generously_ offered to swap it for one of their smaller Asti humis. I am glad I didn't go for it. I started suspecting something wasn't right when they started to offer throwing in some additional accessories...

Thanks for the welcome! This forum is a huge deposit of information. Great place to read and learn.


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

Well it is still 74% on that 72% boleva pack.

Ill leave it out for an hour or so and then pop it into the humidor. See how the seasoning is going. The analogue hygro on the humi is totally broke. Stuck on 40% irregardless of whats going on inside.


----------



## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

Chod said:


> Well it is still 74% on that 72% boleva pack.
> 
> Ill leave it out for an hour or so and then pop it into the humidor. See how the seasoning is going. The analogue hygro on the humi is totally broke. Stuck on 40% irregardless of whats going on inside.


"irregardless", is not a word. It's actually a "double-negative".

The truthful adjective would be, "piece of shit". "FUBAR", would also work.

Keep us posted.

We are devoted to your success.


----------



## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Chod said:


> This should make it easier to view the files.


Follow Don's suggestions for seasoning you will be fine nice looking piece enjoy!


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

Well the humi has been seasoning for about 4 days. 

The first 2 days it was in an environment with fluctuating temperatures because we had a bit of a heat wave. Its now in a cooler more permanent environment.

I am using a dish filled with DW instead of a sponge (Don had mentioned this in his post on seasoning) but last night the hygro read 64%, this morning 63%. I know its a fair sized humidor so i am guessing it can take upto a week or two. I am certainly not keen on rushing it. Just worried that maybe a seal is broken...


As an aside, i was at a yard sale today and picked up a second humi. Someone was selling a tycoon humidor for 30$. Brand new sealed. Came with a whole bunch of accessories. I got a boveda seasoning pack with it, so maybe ill try that in the new humi. Its 100ct so a little smaller, but it will be perfect as a quarantine for any mail ordered sticks.

Any words of wisdom regarding the low RH? Do i just need to stay the course and be patient? Should i add another small dish of DW? The dish i have in there is about 2in in diameter and 2.5in tall.

Will give it another day or so and if no further increase in DW, maybe ill add a second dish...


----------



## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

There are two reasons I use a fresh sponge, only one of which I mentioned in my seasoning sticky.

1) They ward against spillage from jostling.

2) The sponge affords far greater surface area so water can be more readily turned to vapor. This greatly reduces the time required for seasoning. 

Seasoning in warmer temps will go much more quickly. Water turns to vapor more rapidly and the pores of the wood open up more.


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

Well, tonight i will give the sponge a try. Maybe the little cup that i put inside doesnt have enough surface area to disperse the water. Although, the first two days it was in quite the warm environment. Shrug...

For anyone interested, here are the pics of the new humi i managed to pic up today.

It came with an analogue hygro, a faux leather 3 cigar carry case, 2 humi bricks and a dual blade cutter. Not bad for 30$! Will start seasoning it with a Boleva Seasoning Pack I picked up on my way home. Wanted to compare how the seasoning differed to the normal distilled water way.


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

Progress update.

My main humi was at 65% this evening, so i threw in a sponge that had been rinsed and rung out in DW. Will check again in 24 hrs to see if this makes any difference.

The second humi has the boleva seasoning pack in it now. It only has an analogue hygro but the pack says to leave it in there for 10 days. Going to see how that goes. Hopefully by then the main humi is seasoned.

My cigar oasis should also be arriving sometime this week and ill order some heartfelt beads on monday. Will order more then i need incase they need to cover both humis.

Exciting times.


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

Another update. 

Tonight I looked inside my first humi and the hygro read 79! Looks like the sponge worked. Since my hygro is likely up by about 1-2%, I am not panicking. I did however removed the sponge but left the little dw cup in there. Will check again in 24 hours. 

So far so good.


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

Yet Another Update.

Well yesterday I popped open the main humi and got a reading of exactly 70% RH.

Tonight (24 hours later) i checked again and still a reading of 70%.

I am still convinced my Hygro is off by about 1 - 2% but it is looking good.

The humi with the Boveda Seasoning Packs only has a "calibrated" analogue hygro. I was assured this hygro was calibrated. Ofcourse i think that is a load of croc and its probably highly inaccurate. Saying that, it has slowly been rising in RH from 60 to 65.

When my beads arrive from heartfelt, I'll plonk in the digital hygro and get it going.


So far so good! Another few days and it may be cigar time!


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

I didn't want to post a seperate thread about this, so hopefully whoever is reading this can give me some ideas.

In my journeys I have managed to pick up yet another humi. This time a glass top one. I paid next to nothing for it so this is more of an experiment then anything else.

What surprised me is what i found inside (see pics). A small ziplock bag of 3 montecristo cigars. I should note that this humidor had not been used for about 3 - 6 months. So i assume most of the moisture in the cigars has dissipated.

My question is, whether i should put these cigars in with a humi that is being seasoned? 

I found some other threads that suggest rotating them 1/4 every day in a normal humi. There is only 3 of them so its not too much effort. But if i can just put them in a humi that is slowly going up to 70%, it should be safe right?

At the end of the day, these are just a bonus and it would be nice to try to revive them but no great loss if they expire.


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

Good News!

Among other things, my Cigar Oasis Ultra arrived today in the mail.

After about 10 days of seasoning Don's method, the RH in my humidor was a stable 70%. Since I suspect my hygro to be high about 2%, the actual RH should be around 68%.

I wanted to pre-season it before putting any form of humidification in. This is my larger Humidor so therefore I opted to try the Cigar Oasis for it. Pics included.

So far, it has been turning the fan on every little while for about 30 seconds at a time. It is set to 70% RH. I will keep an eye on it over the course of the day and if it is behaving tonight I will put the first inhabitants in!

My smaller humi is seasoning with the Boveda packs very nicely. I am waiting for heartfelt beads for it. Those should be arriving in the next few days. I ordered the 65% beads so I can have 2 humi's at different RH so i can see what I like best.

The third humi is awaiting a good cleaning and it too will be getting 65% heartfelt beads for cigars that shall not be named. Will post pics once they are both up.

As a quick note for anyone considering the Cigar Oasis Ultra:

- It is actually quite compact. Fits perfectly just about anywhere in the humi. I opted to place it at the bottom to avoid any drips. The air outtake is on the rim of the unit which is facing the divider in my humi. The divider has a big gap at the bottom so the outtake is not obstructed in anyway.

- Installation took about 10 minutes. You soak the cartridge in DW for a few minutes (the instructions are quite detailed so can't go wrong). Put the unit where you want it. Install the cartridge and power and you are done.

- The ribbon cable is thin enough that it does not affect the seal of the humi (from what i can tell).

- I am running it on Power but it can also be run on batteries (all included).

- It is fairly quiet while the fans are operating. You can hear the faint sound of the fan spinning up and operating but it is in no way obtrusive. It might be annoying if you had it in a bedroom and it kept firing up overnight. This should only be a problem if you have a bad seal in your humi as once it gets to a certain RH it should maintain it.


These are just initial thoughts, will post more once it has been operating for 24hrs+.


----------



## KickinItInSD (Aug 4, 2010)

Awesome humi, wish I could find a good one cheap somewhere...and by cheap I mean close to free.


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

KickinItInSD said:


> Awesome humi, wish I could find a good one cheap somewhere...and by cheap I mean close to free.


My suggestion is keep an eye on Craigslist. This is what I did/have been doing. I have picked up a total of 4. 2 used and 2 brand new, all close to free (~30$).

Garage sales/Consignment stores are great places too! Although consignments are usually a little more expensive.

There is a 250ct daniel marshal on craigslist at the moment. Ofcourse it is silly expensive (1000$) it is 1/3rd the price of it new.

A lot of the people I have spoken to that are selling these humis, got them either as a present or from a relative who passed away. Some people just don't know the value/nor care about the value.

One word of caution is to check them very thoroughly before buying them. Even though they may be cheap, they may not be any good. Check seals/tap the glass (if a glass top)/etc.


----------



## cubanrob19 (Jun 15, 2010)

Yup ... Craigslist is your friend! I have bought the following on craigslist:

Cuban Crafters 25 count Burl Wood finish for $15
Cherry Wood Finish Glass Top with bottom drawer 60 count for $30
Wallace 50 count Glass Top, Wide base (super nice style) for $30
&
an antique Bolivar Pre-Embargo, probably 50 count for ... get this ... $30!!!
Here is the antique Bolivar one --> http://www.cigarforums.net/forums/vb/cigar-accessory-questions/271010-has-anyone-seen-before.html


----------



## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

cubanrob19 said:


> Yup ... Craigslist is your friend! I have bought the following on craigslist:
> 
> Cuban Crafters 25 count Burl Wood finish for $15
> Cherry Wood Finish Glass Top with bottom drawer 60 count for $30
> ...


I wish your avatar was my friend!:mrgreen::laugh::mischief:


----------



## cubanrob19 (Jun 15, 2010)

TonyBrooklyn said:


> I wish your avatar was my friend!:mrgreen::laugh::mischief:


yea ... she's got some great personality's!


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

Looks like the cigar oasis hygro was perfectly calibrated.

It has brought the RH to 70% (my xikar hygro reads 72%, but i know that it is off by 2%).

Will leave it over night to see how it fares and if all is well, I am loading her up!


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

I loaded up the humi with some cigars today. The Cigar Oasis is doing a great job of maintaining humidity. So far so good. 

In a few weeks once things settle down I will look at replacing the cartridge in the CO with heartfelt beads.

My second humi is still nicely seasoning using the humi packs from boveda. I'd say its about ready, but i am still waiting for the beads from heartfelt to arrive. Should I throw them in for a few days with the seasoning packs from boveda or should I take the seasoning packs out and add DW to the beads and throw them in?

Thanks to everyone that helped. Will keep this thread updated as I go.


----------



## Nickerson (Mar 19, 2009)

@Chod,

A. Your name is disturbing... lol.
B. What are the brown spots inside your humidors lids and stuff?


----------



## Chod (Aug 5, 2010)

A/ Haha It is actually my nickname from school, but its not what you think. Its a shortening of my family name.

B/ To be honest, I am not entire sure. They seem to be stains from water damage? IE. someone might have tried to wet this down before. It doesn't smell and it scrapes off, so really its only aesthetics.

At this stage, I am filling it with cigars I don't mind losing if something goes wrong. My smaller humi will be used for aging which will have the heartfelt beads.


----------



## Nickerson (Mar 19, 2009)

Chod said:


> A/ Haha It is actually my nickname from school, but its not what you think. Its a shortening of my family name.
> 
> B/ To be honest, I am not entire sure. They seem to be stains from water damage? IE. someone might have tried to wet this down before. It doesn't smell and it scrapes off, so really its only aesthetics.
> 
> At this stage, I am filling it with cigars I don't mind losing if something goes wrong. My smaller humi will be used for aging which will have the heartfelt beads.


Once you go beads... that's all you'll ever needs™

Hmm... May need some work.. Haha.
:tease:


----------

